Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesJohnny Manziel led the Texas A&M offense to high marks in 2013, but the defense let the Aggies down.

The Aggies have been in the SEC for two seasons now and have led the league in scoring offense and total offense both seasons. It's fair to say Kevin Sumlin and his staff know a little something about offensive football. Johnny Manziel, in his collegiate farewell, was once again brilliant. He did throw 13 interceptions, but he also threw 37 touchdown passes and led the SEC in total offense with an average of 374.8 yards per game. Manziel also showed his toughness and played through some serious pain the latter part of the season. Receiver Mike Evans had 12 touchdown catches and led the league by averaging 20.2 yards per catch. The Aggies didn't have what you would call a bruising running game, but they really didn't need one with Johnny Football running around and slinging it all over the field. The grade is an A- because the Aggies didn't have much pop on offense in their final two regular-season games, a 34-10 loss to LSU and a 28-21 loss to Missouri.

DEFENSE: F

Aggie fans everywhere still shudder in horror when they think about having to watch that defense (or lack of one) in 2013. There's no other way to say it: Texas A&M was awful on defense. The Aggies gave up 30 or more points in eight of their 13 games, and because they were so bad there was tremendous pressure on the offense in every game. The Aggies finished 95th nationally in scoring defense (32.2 points per game) and were 109th in the country in total defense (475.8 yards per game). With those kind of defensive numbers, it's amazing they won nine games. To their credit, they did make a couple of plays on defense late in the bowl game to secure the win over Duke. But it wasn't enough to avoid a resounding "F" for the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

While there might not have been anything spectacular on special teams, the Aggies were solid across the board. Drew Kaser led the SEC in punting with a 47.4-yard average, which included a long of 76 yards. Texas A&M finished third in the league in net punting with a 39.4-yard average, and one of the big stories of the year in College Station was sophomore Josh Lambo, a former MLS draft pick, coming on and solidifying the place-kicking position. He was 8-of-10 on field goals and booted the game-winner on the road at Ole Miss. The Aggies didn't return any kickoffs or punts for touchdowns, but they also didn't give up any. They were second in the league in kickoff coverage.

OVERALL: B-

Expectations were sky high entering the season after the Aggies won 11 games in their first season in the SEC, so losing four league games was a downer. The comeback 52-48 win over Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl was exciting and helps the final grade a little, but Texas A&M didn't play well down the stretch in the regular season. Even on offense, the Aggies were held to a total of 31 points in SEC losses to LSU and Missouri. Nine wins is never anything to sneeze at in the SEC, but the Aggies also started the season in the top 10 nationally. Their only win over a team that finished the season ranked in the Top 25 was against Duke. But their four losses were all to top 15 teams in the final polls. In the end, this was a season that was wasted because the defense couldn't stop anybody.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jake Trotter

Jake Trotter joined ESPN.com in 2011 after four years with The Oklahoman covering OU football. Before that, he worked at the Austin American-Statesman and Middletown (Ohio) Journal. He's a graduate of Washington and Lee (Va.) University and lives in Oklahoma City with his wife.

Brandon Chatmon

Brandon Chatmon joined ESPN.com in August 2011 after seven years at the Oklahoman covering Oklahoma State University, high schools and recruiting. An avid college football, NFL and NBA fan, Chatmon resides in Norman, Okla.